You live in a flood zone, but you don't have flood insurance. Why not? It seems like something you might need, right? Maybe you think that the premiums are too high. Perhaps you just don't want to fool around with the insurer when you need to make a claim. Maybe you're not even sure who to ask about coverage. Whatever the reason, there's no excuse to wait. Your home might be destroyed, and you'll have no recourse once the water starts rising.

Every Home Is In A Flood Zone

According to the National Flood Insurance Program, about 20 percent of all flood insurance claims are made by people who don't actually live in areas you would consider to be "flood zones." The truth is that everywhere can be a flood zone. Flash floods are a great example of this. Living near a river or lake could put you at serious risk.

Even if you don't live "on" a riverbank, flooding can wipe out an entire town. In fact, a very famous example of this is the 1972 flood in central New York. Residents living in a "low-risk" area of New York State experienced massive flooding that destroyed entire towns and cities. Most residents didn't have flood insurance then, because it was thought to be unnecessary and unavailable.

After all, floods typically don't happen in that area of the country. But it did happen, and it caused massive damage that affected the area for many years. Even if your mortgage company doesn't insist on flood insurance, you should. You can never know when a hurricane from the gulf, or from the ocean, will move in on you and dump enough rain to wash away your hopes and dreams.

No Homeowner's Policy Covers Flooding

Homeowner's insurance typically doesn't cover floods. That's because it represents a special risk and so insurers generally won't include this in the base policy along with bodily injury/liability, medical, and even fire coverage.

Floods Are Extremely Expensive

Flooding can cause a lot of damage. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) identified flooding as the number one natural hazard, even though less than 4 in 5 U.S. adults claim to have done anything to get flood insurance.

Just a few inches of water can do thousands of dollars of damage. Let's say you have a 2,000 sq-ft home. If it's flooded with just two inches of water, it can do at least $21,000 in damage. If you don't have that kind of cash sitting in your bank account - ready to pay for flooding - you're in serious trouble.

The Coverage Is Affordable

The average flood insurance policy costs just $50 per month through the National Flood Insurance Program. You probably pay more for a weekend out on the town - every week. For preferred policy underwriting (if you live in a low-risk area), you can even get discounted rates. Building coverage of $20,000, and contents coverage of $8,000, will cost you about $129 per year. That's about $0.35 per day or almost $11 a month.

Even $250,000 of building coverage, with $100,000 of contents coverage costs just $412 - or $34 a month. It's joke not to buy it.